Meet the Family Ch 6

(The day the paperwork was approved)

Tom was up bright and early with the sun. Breathing deeply, he stretched his arms over his head as he stood the protruding balcony that overlooked the city. Small pops resounded throughout his spine, and he hummed in approval. Dropping his hands down, he watched the city stir and began its day.

A green hand clasped his shoulder and Tom looked up to see Maxxor. The boy grinned.

"How did yesterday's meeting go?" he asked his favorite Creature. Maxxor sighed and looked over his city.

"Long. There were a lot of factors to point out and fix with new humans coming," he explained. Tom gained a confused look.

"How come? It's my brother's base, he's there," he asked the Overworld leader.

"We had to decide where to meet them, who might harm them, and what they might do when they meet us. Will they attack us or accept us for who we are? Will they accept our customs and our ways or will they be rude and disregard our customs as nothing?" Maxxor exaggerated his points to his human, trying to help Tom see the reasoning.

"Well, that's understandable," Tom simply said, looking at the sun that was continuing to rise. Maxxor looked at the boy sharply.

"Really?" he asked dubiously.

"Sure. There are humans that might act like you're nothing but pieces of trash on the road. No matter how hard we try to get rid of prejudices, there's still going to be someone out there who will not like you and call you horrible names," Tom explained, then looked back up to Maxxor. "But for every prejudice person out in the world, there are ten people who accept you for who you are."

Maxxor raised his brows. "Who told you that?"

"My great-grandfather was in World War II. The Italian-Americans were under heavy fire at the time because Italy was with Germany and Hitler. Great-Granddad was part of a special forces that was stationed near Japan. When his buddies found out that he was from Italy, but before the war, they were okay with it because of how he acted and treated everyone," Tom explained. Maxxor was silent for awhile, then grasped Tom in a one-armed hug. "Your great-grandfather would be very proud of you for using his wisdom."

Tom nodded. "He was a great man, and he lives on through my mother's side of the family."

Maxxor nodded as well. Then he patted Tom's shoulder and said, "Come, let's get some breakfast."

"Why do you always do that?" Tom asked, following Maxxor inside the castle.

"Hmm?"

"Why do you always suggest food when a discussion is over?" Tom clarified, jogging a little to keep up with the much bigger Creature.

"Because I know for a fact that teenage boys are bottomless pits that constantly need feeding," Maxxor teased and ran as Tom gave chase, laughing deeply. Laughter turned into a small wrestling match, which Maxxor won.

"You're getting better," Maxxor approved after the match was over.

"I've been going against Malvadine and Attacat. It hasn't been ending well," Tom grimaced.

"Practice, Tom, practice," Maxxor chided. They had reached the Dining Hall, where Kaz, Peyton, and Sarah were sitting with Odu-Bathax, Chaor, Takinom, Prince Mudeenu, and Intress. There were fruit bowls along the table, and Sarah was almost finished with a green cluster of berries. Peyton was relatively wake, but Kaz looked to be half-dead, not having completely woken up yet. Tom took a seat beside him and shook his head at the sight of his best friend barely wake. Maxxor took a seat next to Intress and immediately went down to business with the other Tribal leaders.

"The first thing we'll absolutely need to know is if there will be anyone who's going to be dangerous," Chaor began, just as Kaz fell back to sleep with a light snore.

"KAZ!" Sarah shouted, jolting Kaz awake. Wildly, he swung his head back and forth in bewilderment.

"What?" he asked, borderline hysteria laced in his voice. He looked to Tom, who was completely used to his best friend's waking routines.

"The Spanish Inquisition wants us. Let's not leave any details out, shall we?" Tom supplied. Kaz nodded, hysteria going down slowly as the red head looked at the Creatures. Takinom was trying desperately not to laugh, her hand clamped over her mouth and wings shaking. The rest had the decency to just twitch and cough.

"Who should we start with first, Tiny or Maya?" Tom asked Kaz. Kaz turned to him astonished.

"Tiny or-? We should be including civilians in this, are you kidding me? The true question is 'who should we start first, our mothers or Tiny?'"

"We'll save our mothers for last, believe me," Tom firmly said. Maxxor and Chaor both were shaking from suppressed laughter while Takinom and Intress giggled. The rest of the Tribal Alliance looked at the two boys with confusion.

"Tiny it is, then. Though his nickname is misleading," Kaz declared. Here the Tribal Alliance sat a little straighter in their seats.

"His real name is Timothy Hither, Private First Class. His nickname is Tiny because of his height; he's a head shorter than me!" Tom began. "But Kaz is right, Tiny is very misleading. He has a huge attitude and even bigger than his attitude is his love for explosives."

"You could see him every day out in the field, testing out the C4 explosives," Kaz picked up. "He did at least one explosion per day when he first came to our town. Now he has to do them once a month by orders of Colonel Smith."

"So, you're saying that this Tiny has an attitude and a love for explosives. Oh, boy. We better hide the Nexus Fuses," Sarah said. Peyton and the others snickered.

For Kaz and Tom, that did it. The dam burst open and stories of Diego's favorite squad of four flew out of their mouths. How Diego, despite being in charge of a company, was most likely to bring in a squad of soldiers instead. How Maya and Richard would annoy Sergeant Eito Yaski with silly riddles. How, despite all the times they may act like children, they will put their game faces on and face the enemy.

Questions were peppered in here and there, but it was mostly Tom and Kaz who did the talking. Sarah and Peyton cut in with stories of their own, so that everyone had a chance to speak.

Maxxor had a troubled look when Tom never mentioned his father throughout the stories, though Tom was too absorbed to notice his hero's body language. The green Creature hid his troubles from the humans before the stories could be derailed, but he knew that the others had seen it. Thankfully, they didn't call him out and he made a mental note to ask Diego why Tom didn't know his own father. He prayed that they didn't bring it up later on in the day.

Finally, about mid-morning, the humans slowed down with their families, but not once did they mention their mothers. Intress made the nudge to them.

"What about your mothers? What will they do?" she asked when they finished with their relatives. Silence met her question. Not even Sarah or Peyton had an answer to that. Their faces had guilt and worry carved all over, and none of the Creatures could blame them.

"Tom's mother, as you know from the horror stories that we've told, she's…got a temper. She took a couple of majors down several pegs. She's mostly likely going to unleash her fury and do the same on you guys, and on us," Kaz said, then turned to Sarah and Peyton. "Not you two. You guys are safe."

"Kaz's mom is just as bad," Tom piped up. "She threatened to tell embarrassing stories about us one time when we were being really obnoxious."

Intress and Takinom looked at each other.

"I think I like these women," Intress stated with approval. Takinom laughed as the two boys groaned in horror. The others had the decently to cover their mouths with their hands as they snickered.

"It's not going to be funny when you get yelled at by Ma!" Tom countered their laughter, shaking his finger at them. "She can really turn up the volume when she wants to."

"And Diego won't be able to really stop them since they're not under his command and because they're mothers," Kaz elaborated further. Sarah and Peyton winced in sympathy.

"Yes, well, they'll have to behave themselves until everyone is out of public, won't they?" Prince Mudeenu smirked. Tom and Kaz looked at the Mipedian and at the same time said, "No, they won't."

"They're mothers, Mudeenu. If they think that we 'stole' their children, they will fight to the end to get them back," Takinom supplied.

"For now, let's not worry about the adults," Maxxor said, standing up. Intress took her cue from her mate and stood as well. Mudeenu and Odu-Bathax rose from their own seats while Chaor and Takinom were content with sitting. Maxxor looked at the humans, a smirk carving his face when he saw how suspicious the humans were becoming.

"I do believe that our humans need to know what's planned for the next few days, Maxxor," Intress purred darkly. Odu-Bathax snickered.

"They really need to know. After all, they do have the choice of whether or not they want to accept the challenge," Prince Mudeenu said slyly. That did it for Tom and his friends.

"Challenge?" Tom asked, leaning forward. Sarah looked uninterested, but the gleam in her eye told otherwise. Kaz and Peyton were over-eager puppies, ready for whatever was ahead.

"A three-day challenge, in fact. If you and other Chaotic players accept, that is," Chaor elaborated, though not giving away the full challenge. Kaz shrewdly looked at his favorite Creature.

"What kind of challenge?" the red-head wanted to know. After all, a Creature's definition of "challenge" could equal a human's definition of "painful excursion of death" in some situations. Takinom shrugged.

"Just a race. It's what's going on in the race that's the challenge," she explained. Kaz frowned, but before he could say anything else, Tom jumped up in excitement.

"I'm in!"

"Me, too!" Sarah chimed in, jumping up as well.

"Count me in!" Peyton was just as enthusiastic. Kaz looked lost after the declarations of his friends, but then gave up.

"All right, I'm in," he said, a slow smile coming on his face.

The Creatures smirked at the humans' excitement.

"There's a list of items in the Barracks for the challenge. I suggest that you head there to see what you need to pack," Takinom said, finally standing up and stretching.

Tom and his friends raced from the room to head to the Barracks, slamming the doors behind them.

…..

Intress watched in amusement as her and Maxxor's human and his friends sprinted from the Dining Hall and the doors slammed closed.

"So," Odu-Bathax drawled, looking to Maxxor. Maxxor just had a placid look on his face, though his mouth twitched as he tried to keep an amused smirk hidden. Unfortunately for the great Overworld lord, Chaor noticed and couldn't help but tease.

"Why, Maxxor," the Underworld lord purred, "I do believe that you are going to enjoy this little…'race.'"

Maxxor looked at Chaor with distain. "How can I, or even you, enjoy this race when only our warriors can chase them?"

Takinom huffed. "Well, it's going to be no fun for me! Do you think I want to chase that slimy, grease ball of a player?"

"I'm forever grateful to the Cothica that I've got Tom to chase," Intress sighed in relief over the thought of chasing a human that was a stranger to her.

"Venta has Peyton, thank goodness." Prince Mudeenu muttered the last part to himself.

"Sarah has Tassanil after her," Odu-Bathax added, naming the Danian noble who told Sarah to get to work.

Takinom was still on the fact that she wouldn't be chasing Kaz. "Can Rothar even follow Kaz's movements?"

The rest of the Creatures ignored her. "When will we tell the humans that we're the ones going after them?" Chaor asked.

"When they reach their respective locations," Maxxor answered patiently.

"Luck of the draw, Takinom. You pulled Klay's name out of the hat, you have to chase him down," Intress sympathetically said to her Underworld counterpart.

"Says you," grumbled the Underworld's second in command.

"Hey, you could catch him within a day," Intress pointed out.

"And scare the life out him in the process," Odu-Bathax put his two cents worth. Takinom mulled over this fact before smirking.

….

Tom had just finished packing his backpack with everything that he needed for the three day challenge. The list wasn't extensively long, but his backpack was still filled to the brim. He had a hard time getting the zipper to close with everything inside.

Pleased smirk on his face, Tom pulled out his scanner to see how long he had left until he had to report to his transport that would be taking him to his location. The smirk fell when he saw the timer. Five minutes until running time! Quickly, he snatched up his backpack and raced throughout the castle, trying to reach the main courtyard on the side of the castle.

A flying leap from the stairs and a sprint later, Tom barely made it to the courtyard, filled to the brim with vehicles of all sizes, before a muscular arm shot out and pulled him into a massive bear hug. The boy tensed for a moment before the sight of familiar green skin with its purple tattoos calmed him. Tom looked up to see the golden eyes of Maxxor twinkling with mirth.

"Did you honestly think that you could leave without saying good-bye?" he ruffled the black forelock of Tom's hair, getting it messy. Tom wiggled out of the bear hug and tried to put his hair back in order.

"I thought I could. You know I'm coming back," Tom reasoned.

"Yes, but you don't have to come back entirely. All you have to do is touch me and port away," Maxxor countered. Tom grinned impishly.

"And miss out on the family reunion, along with your chewing out? No way. I'll save you from Ma," he promised. Maxxor rolled his eyes as Tom snickered.

"Not very reassuring, Thomas," the Overworld leader muttered sullenly.

"Hey, I'll be facing what you and the others will go through when I head back to Earth."

"True."

A whistle sounded from one of the Dread Treads. Maxxor gave Tom a little nudge. "Get going. I'll see you in three day's time."

Tom flashed a quick smile and pressed a little booklet in the Creature's hand before racing of to find his transport vehicle. Finding it, he turned back with a cheeky smile and, cupping both hands around his mouth, yelled, "Good luck with the clan!"

He disappeared into the Dread Tread before Maxxor could make a good comeback. Inside, he saw Kaz, Sarah, and Peyton with Venta, Tassanil, Rothar, and Intress, all blindfolded. Then a blindfold covered his own eyes.

"Hey!"

"Relax," came the voice of Gespedan. "The blindfold is to insure that you don't get any sneak peeks."

Blindfold securely on, Tom felt himself be led to a seat. Gratefully, he sat down, just as the Dread Tread ran over a bump. He banged his head against the wall and groaned. This was going to be a long trip.

…..

Maxxor shook his head as Tom disappeared into the Dread Tread. That boy, he thought with fondness. Heavy footsteps informed him of a massive Creature coming up behind him, and Maxxor twitched his head enough to see Chaor walking up.

"So, did your human warn you of his mother as well?" Chaor wasted no time with words as he came to a stop next to Maxxor. Just then, the vehicles started up and left the courtyard. In mere moments, the courtyard was deserted except for a small amount of warriors and players that had politely denied the challenge.

Maxxor was silent as the courtyard emptied; eyes on Tom and Intress's Dread Tread as it turned the corner and vanished. Only when every vehicle had left did the lord of the Overworld answer.

"Not really. He did give me this though before he left," Maxxor said, looking at the booklet. Glancing at the title, he had to laugh. The booklet, no more than several half sheets of human loose leaf paper tied together with loose yarn, had obviously seen better days, for tiny rips and tear pickings rimmed the outside as the ink faded from black to grey to brown. The title, however, was what had him laughing.

Enraged Mothers for Dummies by Thomas Anthony Majors, Forward by Anamaria June Majors in fancy cursive made the cover page. Maxxor had seen enough of Tom's homework assignments to know that the boy had legible handwriting, but not as fancy as this. The faded ink and little nicks suggested that it was made years ago, so Maxxor figured that Tom didn't write the first couple of pages. The rest, as he flipped through the booklet, seemed to come from one source.

Chaor looked on as Maxxor inspected Tom's booklet.

"May I suggest that you study it rather than skim it?" he said. "It might help us survive longer."

Then the lord of the Underworld left the other lord to his studying as Maxxor looked at Chaor with a surprised expression. Then the green skinned Creature smirked.

"Better get started then," he muttered, turning the pages to the Forward and Chapter 1: How to Avoid Butt Chewings.